Hawaiian Drive Inn 28
4827 Mission Street
(between France Ave & Onondaga Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94112 (415) 586-9382
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: None
102 reviews
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
"It was tough to bring myself to go all the way to San Francisco for food, but I decided to make the trip and was rewarded with this…" read more »
54 Reviews for Hawaiian Drive Inn 28
Nice! They give you so much food here that one meal can seriously count as lunch AND dinner. Also, it's cheap... bought some for the family and it only cost about 18 something.
The chicken katsu is hella good, and the workers are really nice.
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My benchmark is L&L, despite my general anti-chain sentiment. This place comes close: lots of meat in the BBQ chicken mini plate, the rice is mushy (just the way I like it), and the mac salad is okay. The Portuguese sausage musubi is a nice change from the usual Spam. But L&L gets the edge in flavor.
Dingy, low on atmosphere: get your grub to go. And what's with Da Kine Hawaiian opening up virtually across the street? A reaction?
The place looks pretty ghetto but don't let looks stop you from getting some good Hawaiian food. It's a fast food-type place so do not eat there. I would just order out. They do delivery and you can just call to pick up later. They're really good about that.
I recommend the chicken terriyaki, chicken katsu, musubis, and the loco moco. It's cheaper than the other Hawaiian place down the street, Da Kine.
One of the better Hawaiian places in the city. The food is always good and the prices are even better. The place is small so you gotta get lucky to get a seat inside or you'll be ordering take out. I love their loco moco here more than anywhere else (and I don't usually order loco moco), and also recommend everything else on the menu. The couple who own the place are really nice so that really makes this place a winner.
The only real downsides to this place is that it is small, and parking can be a little difficult at times.
There aren't that many places in the city that serve Hawaiian food that's good. It's really hard to find restaurants that fit the bill when it comes to making onolicious food.
Hawaiian Drive Inn is good but not great. I had their Chicken Katsu Curry and my husband had their BBQ mix plate. I have to say that the curry was just ok. I like curry and I know good curry when I taste it but this not something I would order again.
Now on the other hand, I had a little taste of my husband's chicken and it was great. Nice, tender and juicy the way chicken should be.
If you decided to come here for something go for the BBQ mix plate, you can't go wrong.
*Cheers*
Not much I can say about this place... because most of restaurant all taste relatively the same to me. I usually get the chicken katsu or the teriyaki BBQ short ribs. Not really a fan of the macaroni salad, but I will eat from time to time. Good food for cheap, and nice people here. I ordered 2 party platters from here once to for a party and one of the workers here helped bring one of the trays to my car!
Real hole in the wall. Never tried any of the bbq meats but they did smell good. Im not a fan of meat with lots of fat attached and im afraid thats what i might get so I stick with what i know. the katsu and moco loco.
Good portions. Good fast service. Overall one of my favorite hawaiian bbq places.
I've been to this place a couple times now and it's been pretty good so far.
Things that are good:
1. Loco Moco
2. BBQ Mixed Plate
3. Saimin Noodle Soup
Cheap tasty food! Don't forget the side macaroni salad too!
Good, solid Hawaiian bbq. Good food, huge portions, cheap price. It's by no means a fancy place. It's a dive with yummy, filling food.
Great, fast service and delicious, plentiful, and inexpensive food; what an awesome combo. Parking is a little difficult in this area. My favorites here are the loco moco and chicken katsu. They pack as much food as possible in those styrofoam packages. The burgers and spam musubi are not bad either. I am not a fan of the mac salad though. The place looks ghetto, but the place is usually packed.
Great, fast service. They cook your meat on spot. The macaroni salad is one of the best I've ever had...yum. The price isn't bad, either, for the amount of food you get. Perfect if you're feeling too lazy to cook dinner but want something fast and yummy.
It's ALL ABOUT the grilled meats here, folks. You can smell it anywhere within a 1-block radius, which makes me staaarved whenever I pass by. I have to admit that for the first few months living in the area, I ate here way, way too much because the portions are so huge, the prices are so cheap, and the teriyaki chicken is just THAT GOOD. I've finally developed enough willpower to NOT go in and order Hawaiian every time I smell it.
Teriyaki chicken is boring, you say. Yes, every Asian place seems to serve teriyaki chicken, even if it's a freaking Chinese restaurant, but Hawaiian Drive Inn's teriyaki chicken is not overly doused in an overly sweet, corn-starchy sauce - the seasoning's barbecued right in, as it should be. The chicken is nice and tender, salty enough and won't make you need to deep-hydrate afterwards - and the broccoli as a side (which I occasionally order to make myself feel minutely healthier) is actually steamed well, with just enough flavor. Macaroni salad is hit-or-miss for most people here, but I tend to like it because it doesn't outright choke me in mayonnaise (although it's probably just doing that sneakily).
Sentimental neighborhood favorite for me. For others, like I said, can't go wrong with the barbecued meats, musubi, or chicken katsu, but stay away from the curry at all costs. It's your normal S&B but with inedible chunks of unidentifiable meat in it. I'd probably eat the chicken katsu more if I weren't so Chinese about not eating too much deep-fried foods because of "yeet hay."
Be warned: you WILL leave this place smelling of barbecued teriyaki deliciousness.
im down, we've been eating at this place for 10 years.
if you ask my grandmother now about chicken, she will without failure respond with 'AHHH, CHICKEN, I _HATE_ CHICKEN'
and anytime you stop by there is without failure at least 1 leftover box from this spot.
if i have had a great sushi dinner or maybe some gary danko or zuni cafe or something delicious, i love to follow up the dinner with a spam masubi from this spot.
also, they serve a $1.60 cheese burger, a unique chinese-style hamburger with nearly no condiments, similar to that of a mcdonalds cheese burger but significantly more artisan, a unique chinese style hamburger that would not be ranked against traditional chinese hamburgers such as beeps, whiz burger, HRD, etc, but could stand up against them have there be an open freestyle chinese burger competition.
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I hate to go against the grain here, but I didn't see all the fuss about this place, and I love cheap fatty Hawaiian BBQ.
What I didn't like about this place is that the Loco moco sauce was goopy and flavorless.
Also the mac salad was tasteless compared to other places I've been to. True it isn't supposed to be able to stand on its own as a dish, but eating it with the meal wasn't satisfying, perhaps more mayo would be the cure.
I had the BBQ mix plate which was okay, the ribs were thicker than other places but fatty. The chicken also wasn't as flavorful as could have been, again not tasty enough to really stand alone.
After reading these reviews it seems that I should have tried the chicken katsu.
WOW..... I can't believe this little place has received so many reviews!This place has been a favorite of mine for years. The place is small, but they do have seating available. The macaroni salad is not made to eat by itself, often a mistake made by newcomers. Everything compliments each other on the plate....a little of this & a little of that! Get it, got it, good! Its affordable & delicious! They have everything from Teriyaki, Deep Fried Mahi-Mahi & Chiken Katsu, Hamburgers & even breakfast......of course they have SPAM!!!! Love this place 5 stars from me!!
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Not a place where you can take a big group, but if yer on the go for take out, it's great to get yer teriyaki fix. Pretty cheap, a lunch will run you around $5.00 (unless it's the short ribs, which I highly advise.)
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I went to try out this location a few days ago to see if the katsu was really as great as everyone said it was, and I have to honestly say that it was disappointing.
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mmmm, everything is excellent! the food, the service, the price. i met an old friend here for dinner and was craving some hawaiian food. i ordered a mini plate of chicken katsu, shared it with my son, and still had leftovers! wow, $3.70 goes a long way. my husband got the regular plate of teriyaki pork chops and also had leftovers (and seriously, this guy eats till he's beyond full). the restaurant is typical - not fancy at all, serves everything on styrofoam with plasticware, BUT there are decent tables to sit at AND the place is pretty clean. the only thing that dampered our dinner was the next table with 6 loud obnoxious teenagers craving attention. oh wait, that was me about 12 years ago. nevermind. though my son enjoyed the entertainment and people-watching. will definitely come here again.
The food here is hot and cheap. They give you alot of whatever you order off. They have the various bbq rice plates. Usually I get the BBQ pork chops. The problem I had here last time was that there was almost a fight between patrons becuase they were young punks trying to out "scarface" each other.
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This place is the best! The serving size is huge and the prices are great. I can feed my 3 small children with one plate. Keep up the good work!
BUDGET! No lie. Great serving portions, will hit the spot within your tummy and your wallet/purse. I like to go in the middle of the afternoon, it's emptied and you get to soak the beautimous rock wall that seems so out of place yet distinctly Excelcsior...
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I notice a lot of recent reviews for this place...could it be approaching bandwagon status? Probably, since I never would have found it without the Yelp buzz.
So, first things first: this is a quintessential dive in a very divey part of town (right across the street from the excellent Taqueria Guadalajara). Most people get the food to go here, but you can sit down and appreciate the lack of ambience. (Indeed, this place is a serious contender for the diviest restauarant prize: bright lights, white everything, weird pink stripes on the walls, the 70's-style rock facade in the back, and of course every intimate detail of the kitchen sitting more or less in plain view.)
Even if you're eating in, you'll get your food in a styrofoam container with plastic utensils (which is a bit of a pain when you're trying to cut meat). We had 3 people (including a very hungry teenager), and we ordered the chicken katsu and the bbq mixed plate, and it turned out to be more than enough, especially considering the generous piles of rice and macaroni salad they come with.
Clearly, the Yelp consensus is that the chicken katsu is awesome, but what exactly is it? It's basically just breaded chicken strips, only zillions of times better than the frozen kind. Who knew those could be respectable? BBQ meats were all great too. They brought us a little container of sauce but it wasn't nearly enough. I don't know if you can get more for free, but you'll definitely need some if you want to cover all the meat and rice. The macaroni salad has potential, but it really needs less mayo and more zip.
It may not be the same as eating in Hawaii, but it's nice to see that SF has even this relatively obscure cuisine covered. (In fact there's another Hawaiian place across the street...could there be a whole Hawaiian food scene here that I don't know about?) In short, portions and prices are great, and with more sauce and better mac salad they could probably be the Mitchell's of Hawaiian food. After all, it's only a matter of time before one of these dives puts the Excelsior on the [foodie] map.
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Decided to come here after reading the great reviews from other yelpers. We almost missed finding this place as the outside isn't very impressive. Its a hole in the wall type of restaraunt. It definitely delivers though and proves that you can't judge a book by its cover.
Inside, there is a small open kitchen where your order is taken. The menu is featured on the wall, fast food style with pictures. The service was great and friendly.
There are several small tables in the back. They look like tables you might find in a local bowling alley, functional but not too pretty.
We ordered Chicken Katsu and the Barbeque Mixed Plate. They were huge generous portions which included rice and also macaroni salad. The Katsu was absolutely delicious. The breading was crunchy and it was deep fried. It was extremely satisfying. The short ribs were tasty and good. The macaroni salad was not very good. It was very bland actually and had a lot to be desired. I realized after a couple of bites that it wasn't worth the calorie intake and just avoided it alltogether. I'm still giving this place five stars though because the rest of the food was just plain excellent. And, the price leaves you smiling. Two thumbs up. Would definitely come back!
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i dunno what all the hype is about. this place is average food but i guess it's been around for a long time, so it's developed a lot of loyalty in the area. i wouldn't drive out of my way to eat here but if i were in the area, which i'm almost never, then i would eat here.
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Sure, you may be swayed by the prettier hawaiian restaurant just across the street if it is actually open for business ... but this place offers a pretty sweet value for your chicken katsu-desiring self.
The portions served here are pretty large - for $6 or so, you get a full helping of whatever it is you're ordering from the full-size menu. They have smaller portions for the $4.50 price range - just as good, just not as much of good for your pallate.
I've had short ribs here along with chicken katsu - I gotta give my love to the chicken katsu. For short ribs, I prefer I Luv Teriyaki on Potrero near the Safeway at Potrero Center. ANyhow ... .if you happen to be near the Hawaiian Drive Inn and would like some fatty goodness that is way easy on the wallet, this is a good spot to drop in.
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Finally gave this place a shot the other day after patronizing Da Kine across the street for some time. I ordered the seafood combo with Deep-Fried shrimp, Mahi Mahi, and Teri Chicken ($6.80), and my wife had the combo with Chicken Katsu and Teri Short Ribs for around the same price. The main draw here seems to be enormous quantities of food for extremely cheap prices. The quality varied quite a bit, but we definitely found some winners. The Teri Chicken was excellent (at least as good as Da Kine), and I would definitely order it again. The fried shrimp were also excellent. The mahi mahi was dry and kind of stale tasting, and I robably wouldn't order it again, altough I might try the mahi mahi sandwich (for $1.95, how can you go wrong). Maybe I just don't like Hawaiian stlye fried mahi, because I didn't particularly care for it at Da Kine either.
The short ribs were decent although I would probably try the Teri Steak or Pork Chops before getting the short ribs again. The Katsu was dry and a little fatty. I would definitely stick with the Teri Chicken in the future.
The rice was well cooked and they give you a ton. A mini plate is likely enough for any normal person. The mac salad, on the other hand, was slathered in mayonaiise and pretty tasteless. I would probably opt for extra rice and skip the mac next time.
Easily 3 stars, possibly 4. I will definitely go back, if only for the ridiculously low prices. I look forward to trying some other menu items (the Teri Steak looked good on the grill, and I want to sample the saimin), and will update when I do.
I would say Da Kine might be a bit better (and they have pearl drinks), but the overall value at HDI28 is superior.
I would eat this every day if I didn't want to live past 40. Alas, I must struggle with my mac salad addiction daily and resist that mayo goodness. Mahi Mahi, BBQ Mixed plate, Chicken Katsu...all chronic. Wash that grease down with a Hawaiian Sun Passion Orange drink. WORD.
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"How many bullets left in thees gun, Cheeno? Enough to keel you?...or you?...or YOU?"
OK, I didn't really hear that at the Hawaiian Drive-In. That was actually Natalie Wood's last speech in "West Side Story", but it does seem a tad dicey on this part of Mission. And OK, the young customers - all male - weren't wielding switchblades....just cell phones. And head bandanas are so Rhoda. Gee, maybe I really was in the Castro. And nobody said "Daddio" or "Cool" or "We're gonna have a rumble tonight". Too bad because I know the words to "Gee, Officer Krupke!".
In my unending search for the perfect saimin in San Francisco, I decided to try this place and ordered the Aloha Saimin. Not bad, especially for $4.50, but nowhere near Hawaii-level sorry to report. They were generous with the meat toppings - chicken and steak teriyaki slices and a fried egg on top. And actually the broth was not too salty either. But the noodles - the true deal breaker - were not up to snuff. They tasted a bit better than ramen noodles and were far too skinny to pass for saimin.
My friend ordered the far more robust Teriyaki Mix Plate for $5.95, where he got a generous portions of the chicken and steak teriyaki as well as a couple of Korean-cut short ribs, all on top of a mound of rice and surrounded by another pile of macaroni salad and cabbage confetti. It was good and hearty though the macaroni concoction was rather bland. One point does have to be deducted for the open bucket of raw meat within viewing distance of the counter. Hide it, will ya?
It's really more like a lunch counter. There are only four little tables in the back, but everything is lit up like a Wal-Mart. Oddly, you actually don't pay when you order but when you leave. In fact, the owner actually brings the food to you at the table. Great prices for a lot of hearty food...whether you are a Jet or a Shark.
FOOD - 3.5 stars...hearty fare, middling saimin
AMBIANCE - 2 stars...no luau here
SERVICE - 4 stars...points for unexpected table service
TOTAL - 3 stars...there's a place for us...somewhere a place for us
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The only real thing I don't like about Hawaiian Drive Inn.. The macaroni salad. The stuff is just too bland and runny for my taste. I avoid it every time I go there.
The chicken katsu and the teriyaki short ribs are my two favorite things there.. The katsu is breaded just enough and fried to the point that it is still succulent. The short ribs are just sweet meaty goodness.. I've had the loco moco, but I wouldn't recommend it cause I think their brown gravy taste as bland as their macaroni salad. Stick to the katsu or the bbq teriyaki.
I love the fact that no matter if you eat in or take out, you still get served in a take-out box and plastic utensils. That way, they have nothing to clean up.. There are a few tables in the back. The staff is pretty friendly. Make no mistake.. This place is a greasy hole-in-the-wall, just the way I like it.
Please don't go to any other Hawaiian BBQ, in SF , or anywhere else.
This is the best place to get a dinner for under $10. I always either get the Mixed BBQ plate, tne Seafood Mix Plate, or the Chicken Katsu. It is the BEST food that you can get homemade for under $10 under 20 minutes. I have tried so many other Hawaiian BBQ places, and no one came even close to beating this one.
Huge portions, cheap pricing, and in an easy location. Only warning, EAT YOUR MACARONI SALAD FIRST. Hot mayonaise is never a good thing.
Cheap. Fast. Fulling.
This has been here for a loong time - before those L&L's came in! And SO much better than L&L!!!
Small and busy - take your plate lunch to go and eat at the beach!
BBQ Mixed Plate is Yum! Macaronni Salad is pretty good - just eat it first, doesn't taste too good warm.
Oh talking about generous portion? I have never finished the full order of anything in there. Chicken katsu is truly favorite... yummmm with that bbq sauce... good heaven! I come to this place once a while since it's in my neighborhood. Call them before you come and they will have your order ready when you enter. Ever since the boba place across the street opened up, I felt their portion is getting bigger. So it is truly a steal. Everything here is good. If not katsu, I get the seafood combo, since I love seafood. And yes, they are all battered and totally fried deep, not just deep fried. The BBQ combo is goodies also. I love the teri short ribs. Short ribs are truly so goodies. And the macaroni salad... oh... me love this place. Gawd, writing this makes me hungry...
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I'm from Hawaii, and this place is a taste of home. I eat here all the time and have a big smile on my face after I'm done. What do I get? BBQ beef mini plate and a side of kimchee. Let's just say they do it right. Yummy.
if you are craving some chicken katsu, this place is your best bet.
all day long, i was thinking about some good old fashioned hawaiian food. by the time i got home, i was needing a katsu fix pretty bad. so i placed an order over the phone, and picked up my plate in about 10 minutes. when i walked in, the guy had my stuff ready for me. (how's that for fast service!!) he totaled up my food, and after i handed him a $20, i looked over towards the grill and started salivating at the sight of other guy behind the counter as he was putting together a teriyaki mix plate... note to self: next time, i'm getting that!
i almost couldn't wait to eat it... i wanted to devour the contents of my styrofoam container right then and there, as the delicious smell of chicken katsu was wafting through the inside of the car. i practically leaped out and ran inside the house to eat.
i opened my containter to see a heaping mound of chicken katsu over two scoops of sticky rice, and a scoop of mac salad. now, this isn't mac salad like i'm used to, but it's delicious nonetheless. it's basically elbow macaroni, with (thinned down) mayo, and a tiny bit of shredded carrot. it sounds pretty boring as far as mac salad goes, but trust me when i say it's the bomb. even my 2 year old daughter likes it, and since i gave most of it to her, i only got a couple bites of it.
when i was pregnant, i craved this place fortnightly. which is probably why my daughter likes it so much!
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Cheap prices, great tasting, can you ask for much more.
Okay, so it's probably not the healthiest thing to eat, but who eats like this everyday for every meal?
Honestly though, only thing I ever tried (and continue to get) is the Chicken Katsu, damn that katsu is good!!
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Love their mac salad!! I always call ahead and it's ready when they say it is. It very cheap and you get a lot of chicken on the chicken teriyaki mini meal. I just wish they had a choice of white meat for the chicken fillets, even if it were extra $. I still love their chicken teriyaki with an extra scoop of mac salad for an additional 50 cents! Now that's a deal. A filling meal for under $5. And it's tasty!
This place has been serving Hawaiian food before it became Uber popular. Their portions are HUGE, and the food, though grease-laden, is extremely Yummy. I never feel guilty (budget-wise) about getting food here, because it's SOO within my price range (since I usually find a way to spend my hard-earned dollars on something unplanned). Parking is not convenient in any way, shape or form, but it's not impossible. A definite must-eat.
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Cheap, nice and quaint, very good, fast. That pretty much sums this place up. They're really nice too, they always let me use their little bathroom in that shed they have in the backyard.
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